Copyright 2023 LocatePeople.org. Mr. DuBoise was arrested in connection with Ms. Gramss killing when he was 18. He was convicted of her murder and initially sentenced to death. A Florida man exonerated of a 1983 rape and murder after serving 37 years in prison is suing over his wrongful conviction in which a disproven bite mark was crucial evidence. To date, at least 33 known wrongful convictions and indictments stem from bite mark evidence, and the misapplication of forensic science was involved in 45 percent of DNA exoneration cases. The dentist, Dr Richard Souviron, gained notoriety as an expert after testifying in the murder trial of serial killer Ted Bundy that one of his Florida victims had a bite mark that matched his teeth. According to the lawsuit, investigators initially focused on DuBoise after an attendant at a gas station across the street from where Grams body was found told police that three boys named Robert, Bo and Ray had been causing trouble in the area. This case was filed in Osceola County Courts, Not Classified By Court located in Osceola, Florida. Florida is the only state that disqualifies exonerees from being compensated if they were convicted of unrelated crimes. However, evidence on the case was presumed destroyedin 1990, apparently aspart of a routine process, Grayson Kamm, communications officer for the Office of the State Attorney, 13th Judicial Circuit, said in a phone interview with Oxygen.com. Following DuBoises exoneration last year, Souviron told the Tampa Bay Times that he wouldnt be so adamant about his guilt if given another opportunity to testify. Souviron famously helped authorities convict Ted Bundy for the 1979 murder of Lisa Levy based on the bite mark the notorious serial killer left on the victims buttocks. During the reinvestigation, Dr. Adam Freeman, a forensic odontologist, reviewed the bite mark evidence and testimony in this case. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. Mr DuBoise has been deprived of all the basic pleasures of human experience, which all free people enjoy as a matter of right., Florida man cleared of rape and murder convictions after 37 years in prison, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. They deserve the truth, not false closure based on a false story. Emailus. The lawsuit, first reported by theTampa Bay Times, seeks unspecified damages. A few weeks later on September 14, 2020, the court vacated his wrongful convictions and the State dropped the charges against Robert DuBoise in a virtual hearing, exonerating him after 37 years incarcerated for a crime he did not commit. In the federal lawsuit filed this week, DuBoises attorneys name as defendants the city of Tampa, four police investigators and a forensic dentist who testified a bite mark on Grams cheek was from DuBoise based on a faulty beeswax mold made of his teeth. DuBoise was released after new DNA testing of the crime scene evidence that was thought to have been destroyed excluded him as the assailant. In October 1983, DuBoise was arrested for the rape and murder of a 19-year-old woman based solely on unreliable bite mark evidence. In a hearing two years later, the Court Clerk testified that all of the evidence admitted into his original trial was destroyed in 1990. Address: 204 37th Avenue North #182 (Page 2) In 2019, the Innocence Project reached out to the Conviction Review Unit (CRU) at the Office of the State Attorney for the 13th Judicial Circuit in Tampa to begin a joint re-investigation based on new evidence on the jailhouse informant and concerns about the discredited bite mark evidence. A Florida I am grateful to be here, now with a chance to move forward, but I know there are more innocent people like me still behind bars, said DuBoise. Wrongful convictions tear at the very foundation of our system and everything that prosecutors stand for: public safety, fairness and justice. It had instead been held in storage at the local medical examiners office, according to the case timeline. Right; Robert outside his home in Tampa, Florida, in October 2020. Susan Friedman, an Innocence Project lawyer who represents Mr. DuBoise, said she told him on Monday that he had been cleared by DNA testing and was going to be set free. He served three years on death row before the Florida Supreme Court vacated his death sentence. Pennsylvania man who wrongly spent 23 years on death row is freed, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. The CRUs audit is the first systematic review of bite mark cases that has been initiated by a prosecutors office. All rights reserved. Investigators have two new persons of interest in the case. . All original evidence was thought to have been destroyed, as was noted by the court at an earlier time Soon after this discovery, DNA testing on the remaining evidence revealed positive identification of male DNA from the perpetrator and excluded Robert DuBoise as a contributor. Robert S Dubois, 93. In 2007, pursuant to a court order the state responded that in 1990 the Hillsborough County Clerks Office disposed of the evidence in the regular course of business. Defense counsel met with a Tampa Police Department detective to determine whether any items not admitted at trial were in the police departments custody, at which time approximately ten boxes of evidence were foundmostly trace evidence. Thursday morning, the courtmoved to reduce DuBoises sentence to the exact amount of time he has already spent behind bars. Im not sure it can get any worse other than all the men that came before him and were executed. The DNA test results further discredited the informant because the results did not match Mr. DuBoise, his brother or his friend, whom the informant had implicated in the crime, Mr. Warren said. They erode confidence and trust in our system because, when you have a wrongful conviction, it means that we failed to do the most fundamental thing were supposed to do, which is to find the truth., Im proud that we were able to play a role in freeing an innocent man, he continued. Dan Sullivan, After 37years, hes free. In March 1985, a jury convicted DuBoise of capital murder and attempted sexual battery and recommended a life sentence, but the judge overrode the recommendation and sentenced DuBoise to death. No one else has been arrested for her murder. The state must provide any benefits promised for testimony, the substance and circumstances of the statements the informant will testify about, the informants complete criminal history and other cases in which they cooperated with law enforcement in exchange for benefits. Souviron, whose practice is in Coral Gables, Florida, did not immediately return a telephone message seeking comment on the DuBoise case on Saturday. During the detectives canvas, DuBoise was identified as a person of interest after a local resident told police that he caused problems at their regular hangout. The discovery of a rape kit for victim Barbara Grams, which had been presumed destroyed decades earlier, provided conclusive evidence that Robert DuBoise wasn't guilty of the 19-year-old's 1983 rape and murder. (Image: Casey Brooke Lawson/AP Images for The Innocence Project). Robert Dubois was wrongly convicted for a 1983 rape and murder. Including DuBoises case in the calculations, 22 of the 24 Florida exonerations for which the jurys sentencing vote is known (91.7%) have been in these cases. 2. The complaint further claims that investigators fabricated evidence and withheld exculpatory evidence relating to jailhouse informants, falsely contending that Mr. DuBoise confessed to the crime.. I always knew that DNA would prove my innocence and hoped that the evidence could be found not just for me, but for my family as well. On 11/07/2006 STATE OF FLORIDA filed an Other - Other Criminal lawsuit against DUBOIS, ROBERT BRANDON. Address: 3600 Oak Tree Ln Titusville, FL 32780, Address: 660 Karen Dr Titusville, FL 32780, Address: 880 Edgewood Rd Titusville, FL 32780, Address: 2641 Arpana Ct Orlando, FL 32839, Address: 13657 Tetherline Trl Orlando, FL 32837, Address: 1802 NE 15th Ter Gainesville, FL 32609, Address: 900 S Kentucky Ave Winter Park, FL 32789, Address: 950 Southlakes Way SW Vero Beach, FL 32968, Address: 1827 Thornhill Rd Wesley Chapel, FL 33544, Address: 3776 Inverrary Blvd Lauderhill, FL 33319, Address: 565 Deer Creek Run Deerfield Bch, FL 33442, Address: 138 Colonial Blvd Palm Harbor, FL 34684, Address: 108 Elmwood Cir Seminole, FL 33777, Address: 8071 Kiawah Trce Port St Lucie, FL 34986, Address: 6465 142nd Ave N Clearwater, FL 33760, Address: 4253 Rudder Way New Prt Rchy, FL 34652, Address: 302 Sterling Dr Winter Haven, FL 33884, Address: 1035 E De Carlo Dr Deltona, FL 32725, Address: 20 S Compass Dr Ft Lauderdale, FL 33308, Address: 11406 Mystical Ln Bryceville, FL 32009, Address: 6101 Cleveland St Hollywood, FL 33024, Address: 6603 10th Ave W Bradenton, FL 34209, Address: 3256 St Ives Blvd Spring Hill, FL 34609, Address: 18504 Kuldin Ave Pt Charlotte, FL 33948, Address: 1248 Polk St Melbourne, FL 32935, Address: 34604 Sweetpea Ln Zephyrhills, FL 33541. Wrongful convictions deprive victims and their families of justice. All Filters. Dr. Souviron concluded that it was a match and detectives immediately arrested DuBoise who, at the time, was only 18 years old. Crime News is your destination for true crime stories from around the world, breaking crime news, and information about Oxygen's original true crime shows and documentaries. We found 28 records for people named Robert Dubois in 25 cities in Florida throughout Titusville, Orlando, and 23 more cities! All Rights For now, though, DuBoise is just celebrating his newfound freedom. Reserved. DuBoise will be the 171st documented death-row exoneration in the U.S. since 1973. He walked free that afternoon. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Copyright by Extensive-Enterprises 2023. 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